There are legions of 007 fans. But only a select few will be able to afford to share the special bond, James Bond, between the superspy and his ever-changing collection of cars.
Real aficionados know that in the original Ian Fleming novels, 007 drove a 1930 Bentley. But from the beginning, and in all but a handful of the Bond films to date, his car of choice has been an Aston Martin. The British brand is marking the 50th anniversary of one of the oddest films in the series, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” by rolling out a unique version of the new Superleggara DBS.
If you’re planning to play trivial pursuit, the question might go this way: “Who was the only actor to do a single, and almost universally panned take on 007?” The answer is George Lazenby, who had his brief opportunity to drink a martini stirred, not shaken, in this 1969 adventure.
The film also was notable for the fact that Bond abandoned the Aston Martin DB5 that first appeared in “Goldfinger” and, most recently, wound up being shot to pieces in “Skyfall,” in all clocking five more starring roles than Lazenby. Instead, the Australian actor was seen chasing after the villain in a 1969 Aston DBS.
(Aston adds drop-top Volante to DBS Superleggera line. Click Here for the story.)
It thus seems appropriate that for those who celebrate the film – and some buffs really do – there’s a special edition On Her Majesty’s Secret Service DBS Superleggara, which we will henceforth and mercifully shorten to the OHSS DBS.
For just under $400,000, you’ll find a number of slick, visual updates, the special edition sporting the same Olive Green as the one in the 1969 film. It also gets details like a carbon-fiber splitter, body-colored roof strakes and diamond-cut alloy wheels. There’s also plenty of carbon fiber trim, in and out.
The cabin is finished in black leather with red stitching. And lest you forget who you’re wishing you were, owners will find both the 007 logo, as well as “OHMSS Edition,” on a special patch.
And should you share a passion for martinis, there’s even an optional drinks case that stores away in the trunk, or boot, as Bond was called it.
(Click Here for a first drive review of the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera coupe.)
The OHMSS DBS is all about appearance. There are no changes to the underlying mechanicals, sadly. But, then again, the mainstream version of the Superleggara DBS won’t leave you wanting much when it comes to performance, its twin-turbo V-12 punching out 715 horsepower, well over twice what the DBS Lazenby drove was capable of making.
If you’re looking for any of the traditional Bond gimmicks, however, you may be in for a disappointment. The DBS in the 1969 film was surprisingly spare, without oil sprayer, machine guns or ejection seat.
If you’re looking for all those goodies, consider trying to find one of the very limited versions of the Goldfinger DB5 Continuation cars Aston Martin introduced a year ago. You might have to look hard considering the automaker produced just 25 of those models, all quickly accounted for at a cool $3.5 million each.
(Aston Martin’s all-electric Longonda all-terrain concept hints at the sub-brand’s future.)
At $397,007, the OHMSS Superleggera DBS might just seem a bargain – though it does come in at $90,000 above the stock version of the car. And with a full 50 being produced, it might be a wee bit easier to get one if you don’t wait too long to stroke a check or produce one of the credit cards Moneypenny might have provided for you.
